A Wish of My Sister Vol. #01

What They SayKei-chan's elder sister dresses him up in women's clothing, makes out with him at the public bath, and teaches his girlfriend how to give proper blowjobs. Is it all in good fun, or can their relationship ever be something more? Plus, 4 more short stories of forbidden love!

The ReviewPackaging:

Flaunting a scantly clad threesome from the book's main storyline, Icarus Publishing continues its trend of offering original Japanese cover art with only minor English-language tweaks. In this instancewhile their purist efforts are still much appreciatedI'm not exceedingly enamored with the front's overly Photoshopped design, although the imagery is nonetheless pleasant and imparts a good sense of the inside visuals. The enticingly illustrated backside presents a contented oneesan (older sister), lounging in bed after some amorous activities. As has been my experience with other Icarus's titles, the book feels solid and pages are of decent quality.

Artwork:

Because A Wish of My Sister pops my Masahiro Itosugi cherry, I'm impotent in my ability to discuss how this title fits into the manga-ka's overall body of work. What I will say is her present style, though attractive, is rather conventionalcharacters are merely cute in a generically clean, big-eyed fashion, and scenes are rendered with just enough detail and shading to keep them from looking bare. Even at the sweaty heights of coital pleasure, everything's controlled, with tame expressions and delicately placed bodily fluids.

There's nothing glaringly at fault or irksome about Itosugi's efforts. Her femalespredominantly a harem of full-bodied sexpotsare alluring enough, and she certainly doesn't skimp on the blue details once copulation is involved. As a whole, the art is all technically sound yet bereft of any salient, compelling aesthetic, leaving it to ooze a very basic naked-anime-girls vibe.

Text/Translation:

Adult manga usually aren't the most text intensive offerings, and where A Wish of My Sister is no exception, Icarus' edition reads well while managing the book's significant number of honorifics and family titles. For those who might need a little help deciphering the Japanese, a glossary of terms and pronunciations is conveniently located in the volume's posterior.

Consistent with their other manga, only verbal sound effects (those found inside character speech bubbles) are given accompanying translations; all other drawn sounds are treated as artwork and left untouched. Personally, I'm a fan of this practice, as it leaves the visuals completely clutter free, but I do realize a desire exists to have English equivalents of the effects listed in some fashionI imagine Icarus could win further praise by providing an additional translation glossary for the bawdy kanji.

Content:

"Incest, incest is the best, put your family to the test!"

Or so I've been told. But when illicit couplings with one's own blood relation just isn't enough to get the proverbial rocks off, situations call for a tad more salacious tinder for stoking the smoldering flames of eroticism, which manga-ka, Masahiro Itosugi, provides through a liberal sprinkling of young male cross-dressing.

Assuming the title didn't tip you off, the book's primary theme is the taboo brother & sister relationship that seems decidedly prevalent in Japanese pop media. These, however, are not the crushing, family-destroying stories found in some anime and manga. Herein, A Wish of My Sister dabbles in relatively barebones tales of frantic family fraternizingquick setup, then right to fucking. And of the eight included chapters, all but two feature gendering bending on part of their juvenile penis-endowed leads.

The tawdry ensemble strips-down as follows:

A Wish of My Sister: Kicking things off is the book's four-chapter namesake. When Keisuke's oneechan (older sister) discovers him trying on her underwear, she takes it as the perfect opportunity to show her true feelings...and to get poor Keisuke into a frilly dress. Their newfound familial passion and cross-dressing hobby is soon tested as Kei-kun's school chum, Kotomi, decides the coy boy is hers alone. Caught between the sister he loves and the girl who's in love with him, how can Keisuke choose just one?

In Bloom: A more conventional affair and the first chapter without dolled-up dudes, while home together, Takuya and his older sister succumb to their carnal urges.

Fire Works: The second story sans transvestism, on a hot summer night, Chika attends a local festival with her older brother who gets overwhelmed by his attractive sibling's sexual advances.

Coming-Out: Getting back to boys in silky panties, Shizuru's shocked when longtime friend Mizuki reveals herself to be a guy, a guy who only wants one thing, Shizuru!

Scent of Milk: And brining the book to a close is a little something for MILF fans, after browsing for an outfit, Yumidecked-out in a new lacey skirt and thigh highsmakes love to his mother in the store's restroom.

CommentsFor a book trading so heavily in themes of incest and adolescent male cross-dressing, the cheery illustrations almost feel at odds with the fetishistic subject matter. Not that this type of cutesy-art/hardcore-story combination is uncommon for the world of adult manga, but in this instance, the absence of a longer, developing narrative makes the setup less satisfying, as their's a lack of truly intense moments that usually define the standalone-episode format. The initial four-part story ends prematurely before its material feels fully explored, and the remaining individual chapters come across like subdued introductions to eventually raunchier pieces.

Worth noting is Itosugi's depictions of her effeminate little boys. These supple, rounded nymphs could easily be mistaken for lolita hermaphrodites, which may well be their creator's intention. Combined with the already thick glaze of aggressive older women on blushing virginal lads, A Wish of My Sister absolutely bathes in conceptual filth, but never goes all the way, gleefully teasing its audience with blatantly degenerate innuendo smothered in a viscose layer safe, happy sex.

Not being a huge purveyor of lighter adult fare, my continued hope A Wish of My Sister would suddenly take a nastier turn admittedly affected my enjoyment of this particular manga. That said, besides somewhat uninspired artwork, the book all-around still pumped enough lewd juices to keep me relatively aroused. Those with a penchant for estrogenic male youths and prefer their loin lambada mild should likely find a tasty treat in these incestuous tales, since despite their possibly darker undercurrents, Itosugi's stories remain enjoyable, easygoing affairs.